THE GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE?

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This article hits on what so many have said: there is NO gun show loophole!

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The Blue Press

June 2002

Page 10

THE GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE?

(It’s us!)

By Peter Caroline

There’s been a lot of discussion about the so-called “gun

show loophole.” The anti-gunners would have us believe that

the average American gun show is a “one-stop shopping

center” for criminals and terrorists, and that because not

every exhibitor is an FFL dealer, unauthorized individuals

can readily obtain guns at a gun show without undergoing a

background check.

I’ll readily admit, the latter statement is probably true

but, according to Department of Justice figures, highly

unlikely. Records indicate that criminals obtain the vast

majority of their guns by stealing them or buying or renting

them from other criminals. There is only a miniscule

percentage of criminals who have obtained their guns at gun

shows. Why? First, because it’s easier to buy them from

other criminals or steal them. Second, because purchasing a

gun at a show results in more public contact and exposure

than most criminals want. Third, because finding a bargain

at today’s gun shows is about as likely as finding gold

nuggets in a cow pie. Even that small minority of non-FFL

gun sellers at any given show keep a Blue Book handy. They

know the nominal value of whatever modern gun they might be

selling, and they usually are asking at least twice that amount.

All right, let’s say that a criminal, someone barred for one

reason or another from buying a gun legally, buys a gun

“off-paper” at a gun show.

Then what? First of all, they’ve committed a felony by

purchasing the gun. Second of all, they will be committing

an even more serious felony by using that now-illegal gun in

the commission of a crime. And it’s up to law enforcement to

apprehend them. Couldn’t we have prevented all this crime by

making every seller do background checks? Not really. People

who are inclined to commit crimes will, by definition, do so

regardless of the law. Besides which, if FFL dealers and

ordinary citizens are to be required by the government to

perform crime prevention duties, shouldn’t the government

compensate them for their efforts? As far as I know, the

13th Amendment is still on the books.

The anti-gunners claim that a significant number of

exhibitors at gun shows have no FFL. They’re right. At most

gun shows, unfortunately, a growing number of exhibitors are

offering only fierce T-shirts, Korean-made “military

surplus” web gear, home made pastries and beef jerky, plus

backscratchers and other non-gun items. It’s pretty sad.

Now, what about terrorists? The Brady Bunch, AGS and other

information-challenged anti-gunners have cited incidents of

known terrorists buying guns at gun shows. What they have

not cited is the fact that in both instances, the offending

parties were arrested shortly afterward. The system does

work. But more to the point, if you were a terrorist and you

wanted to buy large quantities of selective-fire weapons,

ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, landmines and

explosives for your little group, where would you go… to

an American gun show, or to the bazaars of such countries as

Pakistan and Yemen? Next time you’re at a gun show, check

out the price of a semiauto-only Kalashnikov clone. You can

get the rock ‘n roll version for one-third the price in the

Middle East. These people may be nuts, but they’re not stupid.

The anti-gunners, on the other hand, are neither crazy nor

stupid. Their primary, albeit unspoken, objection to gun

shows has nothing to do with criminals or terrorists. It’s

us. We, the great 99+ percent of all legitimate, law-abiding

gun owners, scare the living bejesus out of the

anti-gunners. We are not people that they can control. We

have the freedom, in most jurisdictions, to sell, trade or

give guns to each other… with no government record of the

transaction. The independent, non-FFL seller at the show,

whether he has guns displayed on a table or is walking

around with one price-tagged gun slung on his shoulder, is

an affront to those who firmly believe that what is not

mandatory should be prohibited, and that the

government should have every aspect of our lives recorded on

a database. The gun show, because it is a public venue, is

their first line of attack. look carefully at all the

proposed federal and state attempts to close the “gun show

loophole,” and you will see provisions that could impact on

private gun sales, trades or transfers outside of shows…

eventually at your gun club or even your home. Their

ultimate goal is to register every gun

in this country, and every gun owner, too. You want to leave

your guns to your children or grandchildren or a good

friend? No sweat, just fill out these government forms and

pay the transfer fees.

We gun owners have

been accused, in regard to this “gun show loophole” issue,

of being paranoid, which means having delusions of

persecution. If, however, you will spend at least a few

minutes reading and pondering what the anti-gunners are

proposing, you’ll agree that the persecution is quite real,

and not delusional. Free, gun-owning Americans are, in fact,

the “gun show loophole,” and there are people out there who

would happily put an end to our freedom, by whatever means

necessary.